Simple Shopping

Speak  English speaking Beginner

1. Where are the pencils? 2. How much is this mirror? 3. How much does this cost? 4. How much are these? 5. Do you have any t-shirts? 6. That comes to $26.59. 7. That will be $17.48.

They're on the second shelf.  It's $19.95. That one is $5.00. They're $4.00 each. What size? Medium or Large? Here's $30.00. Here's $17.50. Keep the change.

Okay, thanks. Okay. I'll take it. How about this one? That's too expensive. Large. Your change is $3.41 Thanks.

Contractions

Speak  English speaking Beginner

In speaking, contractions are often used in place of auxiliary verbs such as is, are, am, will, have, has, had, and would.

See the following examples:

Regular I am British. He is Chinese. They are Italians. There is a man at the door. Where is the butter? What is he doing? Who is that? She is going to the beach. We are going to eat now. They are not ready yet. I will be back in a minute. There will be lots of food. I have seen that movie already. She has finished her homework. I had played that game before. We would be glad to help. They would like to go now.

Contracted I'm British. He's Chinese. They're Italians. There's a man at the door. Where's the butter? What's he doing? Who's that? She's going to the beach. We're going to eat now. They're not ready yet. I'll be back in a minute. There'll be lots of food. I've seen that movie already. She's finished her homework. I'd played that game before. We'd be glad to help. They'd like to go now.

Expressing Likes and Dislikes

Speak  English speaking Beginner

1. I like fruit. 2. Helen likes sports. 3. Ms. Cramer doesn't like    coffee. 4. Tony does not like action    movies. 5. Does Terry like swimming? 6. Does Phil like soft drinks? 7. Does Sheila like salad? 8. Do you like Chinese food?

What kind? What kind of sports?Really?  Does she like tea?  Oh. What kind does he like? Yes, he does. No, he doesn't. No, she does not. Yes, I do.No, I don't.A little.

Oranges and bananas. Football and tennis. Yes, she does. (He likes) drama.

Worksheets to download and print

1. Read!

:: Dialogues and vocabulary

2. Learn!

:: Talking about likes and dislikes

3. Practise!

:: Tasks and exercises

4. Test yourself!

:: Test worksheets with answer keys

5. Play! Super bee race

:: Game items

Talking about Life Events

Speak  English speaking Beginner

1. When is your birthday? 2. What year? 3. Were you born and raised here? 4. Did Sam grow up here? 5. Where did Lisa go to school? 6. Which university did Rick go to? 7. When will she graduate? 8. When did they get married? 9. When was your son born? 10. What day is your wedding anniversary? 11. When did they move to Pittsburgh? 12. When did his grandfather pass away/(die)?

December 29(th) That's personal. No. I wasn't. Yes, he did. In California. Princeton. Next April. They got married in June. Two months ago. It's July 17th Last September. Five years ago.

Cynthia: Hi, Victor, do you think it's possible for us to have a talk sometime today?

Victor: I'd love to, but I've got a pretty tight schedule today.

Cynthia: Oh, what have you got going on?

Victor: Well, I've got to finish a report by ten.  Then I have to drive to the airport to pick up a client of mine at eleven.  After that, I'll have a meeting with him over lunch.  I guess I won't have a break until two o'clock.  But then from three until five, I have to attend a senior staff meeting.

Cynthia: Wow, that's cutting it close.

Fei: Jerry, you've been in Beijing for a whole year now.Jerry: Oh, that's right. I hadn't thought about it. This is my first anniversary! Fei: What do you think of your first year in Beijing? Was it a good one? Jerry: Yeah, it was wonderful. Now that I think about it, I really did a lot... I've learned a lot of Chinese. I can read more than 500 Chinese characters now. Fei: And you've visited lots of new and interesting places.

Jerry: That's for sure! I've seen all of the great sites in and around Beijing, plus I visited Guizhou Province. Not too many people from my hometown have been there before! But how about you Fei. You must have done some special things in the past year.

Fei: Yes, I had a great year too, thanks to you, Jerry! I've really learned how to do many things. My English is better than it was... you taught me how to succeed at a job interview... you taught me how to play tennis...

Jerry: Hey, it wasn't me! You did it all yourself. You should give yourself some credit for being such a good student.

Fei: Don't you think it's important to be modest?

Jerry: Sometimes it is. But sometimes you have to show confidence in your ability, too.

Fei: Okay, I'll do my best. Now, how about this year? Have you made any special plans? Many Americans make some special "resolution" for the New Year, don't they?

Jerry: Yes, I've made a couple of New Year's resolutions. I've decided that this year I'm going to learn even more Chinese. I hope I'll be able to speak fluently by the end of the year. Also, I want to travel all around the country.

Fei: That will be fun. You'll be able to practice Chinese while you travel. Are there any special places you want to visit?

Jerry: I want to go all over - to the old capital city, Xi'an, to see the ice festival up north in Heilongjiang, to see the beautiful island of Hainan, and most of all, to visit Qingdao.

Fei: Why do you want to see Qingdao most of all? Is it because of the old style buildings? Or for the clean, sandy beaches? Or maybe because it's famous for having the most beautiful women in China?

Jerry: No, no, and no! I want to go to Qingdao because of the beer!

Fei: You're silly, Jerry!

Jerry: Well, what about you Fei? What would you like to achieve this year?

Fei: Let's see... I'd like to learn more English, so that I can watch movies and sing songs in English. And I'd also like to improve my performance at work.

Jerry: That shouldn't be too hard for you. I mean, for such a good student and a hard worker.

Fei: Thank you Jerry. It's very kind of you to say so!

Talking about the Future

Speak  English speaking Beginner

1. What will you do tomorrow? 2. When will you finish? 3. What will we do in class today? 4. Where will they put the table? 5. When will Joe leave for New York? 6. How will he get there?

I'll help my mom with the housework. In the afternoon. We'll play some word games. They'll put it next to the window. He'll leave right after dinner. He'll take the bus.

Note: Another way of talking about the future is with the phrase "be going to" + verb.

For example,

I am going to eat out tonight.
Mr. Wolfe is going to stay home.
What are you going to do tomorrow?
I'm going to visit my grandmother.
How are you going to get there?
I'm going to walk through the forest. 
Please be careful!  

 

1. The auxiliary verb will is used in making predictions or simple statements of fact about the future.

• The sun will rise at 6.30 tomorrow.
• Lunch break today will be 10 minutes longer than usual.
• In the year 2050 all students will have their own computers in school.
• If you help me, I will help you.
• Do you think she will come soon?
• You won't pass your exams if you don't start working harder.
• I know my parents won't let me go to the party.
• Will it snow for Christmas?
• I know she's sick, but will she be back in school tomorrow?

   2. The auxiliary verb going to is used in talking about intentions. (An intention is a plan for the future that you have already thought about.)

• We're going to buy a new car next month.
• I'm going to work in a bank when I leave school.
• In the new year I'm going to stop eating so much junk.
• He's not going to go to the dance. He's got too much work.
• I'm not going to watch TV until my science project is finished.
• Are you going to play basketball after school?
• What are you going to have for lunch today?

   3. The present continuous tense is used in talking about arrangements. (An arrangement is is a    plan for the future that you have already thought about and discussed with someone else.)

• I'm meeting my mother at the airport tomorrow.
• Our grandparents are visiting us this Christmas.
• Sorry, I can't stay after school today; I'm playing tennis with Jun-Sik.
• My sister's going to the dentist tomorrow.
• I'm not returning home for the holidays, so I can come to your party after all!
• Are you doing anything on Sunday morning?
• Do you know if he is going to the dance with Maiko next week?

Talking about Past Actions

Speak  English speaking Beginner

1. What did you do last Friday? 2. Where did you go? 3. When did you get back? 4. Where did you stay? 5. What did Sally have for lunch? 6. What did he eat last night? 7. How was the weather?

I went to a baseball game. I went to Detroit. I got back on Saturday night. I stayed with my parents. She had soup and sandwiches. He ate Chinese food. It was wonderful.

Study some examples and then we will be at the practice session.

Person A: "Why didn't you come to my party last night?"
Person B: "I'm sorry I couldn't make it. I had to go visit my grandmother at the hospital."
Person A: "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Is she doing ok?"
Person B: "They just completed a small operation and the doctors said she should recover."

Person A: "Did you get a chance to go to that new restaurant down the street?"
Person B: "Yeah. I ordered the special, but the server screwed up my order."
Person A: "That sucks. So what ended up happening?"
Person B: "They finally got my steak out, but it was overcooked. It was a terrible experience."

Person A: "What did you do last weekend?"
Person B: "I went on a date with Sammy."
Person A: "Really? How was it?"
Person B: "I couldn't ask for a better night. We talked all through out our two hour dinner, and then we sat by the river and cuddled in the night."

Person A: "Didn't you finish finals week?"
Person B: "Don't remind me. I think I failed most of the exams."
Person A: "Why did you do so terrible?"
Person B: "My mind just went blank. I think I overloaded my brain. I just couldn't concentrate during the exams."

Telling Time

Speak  English speaking Beginner

Here are some phrases you can use when you want to know the time:

• What's the time?
• What time is it?
• Have you got the right time?
• What time do you make it?

7:00 12:00 3:10 7:14 9:15 1:21 11:05 2:09 6:30 4:50 10:45 8:35

It's seven o'clock. It's twelve o'clock. It's three ten. It's seven fourteen. It's nine fifteen. It's one twenty-one It's eleven oh five. It's two oh nine. It's six thirty. It's four fifty. It's ten forty-five. It's eight thirty-five.

It's seven p.m. / a.m.It's noon / midnight. It's ten (minutes) after three. It's fourteen after seven. It's (a) quarter after nine. It's twenty-one minutes past one. It's five after eleven. It's nine minutes past two. It's half past six. It's ten minutes to five. It's quarter to eleven. It's twenty-five minutes to nine.

Worksheets to download and print

1. Read!
:: Dialogues and vocabulary

2. Learn!
:: Asking and telling the time

3. Practise!
:: Tasks and exercises

4. Test yourself!
:: Test worksheets with answer keys

5. Play! What time is it?
:: Game items
:: Game cards